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LiteXim Aerobuds wireless earbuds review


REVIEW – Once again I got the opportunity to further my search to find the earbuds that are perfect for me. So far, I have come across 2 that are close to perfect but I always wonder if there is something better “out there”. Given the opportunity to try another set, I willingly said yes!! Now let’s see what my experience was like.

What is it?

The LiteXim Aerobuds are a pair of wireless, Bluetooth lightweight earbuds with the usual charging case. They perform the standard audio functions including phone functions.

What’s in the box


1 x Pair of Aerobuds
1 x Charging Case
3 x Pairs of Wing Tips
3 x Pairs of Ear Tips
1 x USB Micro USB Cable
1 x Instruction Booklet

Design and features

The LiteXim earbuds come nicely and safely packaged. Once you remove them from the box and charge them, you are ready to go. I was able to use the Wing Tips and Ear Tips that were already installed. It is important to note that the instruction manual that comes with the earbuds is more like a quick start guide. There is a printed QR Code on it that allows you to download the full manual onto your phone or you can go to their website and download the manual to your computer.


Once the earbuds are charged, you press down on the surfaces of each simultaneously for 2 seconds, and they power on and show up in the Bluetooth settings screen of your phone. The surface of each earbud is the Multi-function button (Referred to as MFB for the rest of this article). Just as an FYI, I use the iPhone 8 Plus. The earbuds automatically connect to each other, and the right earbud flashes red and white while in pairing mode, just like most earbuds. Once the earbuds are paired, they are ready for use. For phone calls, only the right earbud is enabled.

The following is the status indicator chart from their manual:

Performance

Specifications:
Bluetooth version: 4.2
Stand-by-time: Approx. 60 hrs
Talking time: Approx 3.5 hrs
Earbud battery capacity: 50 mAh each
Charging case battery capacity: 500 mAh

Using the earbuds:

To answer a call: Press MFB once.
To hang up: Press MFB once.
To reject a call: Double tap MFB.
To play/pause music: Press MFB to play or pause when playing music.
To switch to the next song: Double tap MFB.

When the batteries are low, the earbuds will announce “low battery” and eventually power off. They will also auto shutoff if they fail to connect to your device within 3 minutes after powering on, or if they are connected to your device and lose the connection for more than 5 minutes.

These earbuds work well for use during daily running around and needing or wanting to listen to music. They sound ok but are definitely not audiophile grade. The bass is somewhat lacking, and the highs tend to be harsh even at lower volumes. The Mids are fairly present and within range. I did encounter the following issues:

  • I charged the earbuds overnight, and the next day, about 10 minutes into listening to them, the left ear announced that the battery was low and shut off. It turns out that even though you drop them in the case, you have to move them around a bit to ensure that they are connecting properly. Once I figured this out, I charged them again overnight, and they have been fine since. I do check them each time I “drop” them in the charging case.
  • I travel back and forth to work using the same route every day, so all of the earbuds that I have tested are used within the same environment. These earbuds would lose their Bluetooth connection a few times on each journey, and this is not counting the disconnections in the known areas on my route where interference is high and where difficulties are presented to all of the earbuds.
  • When earbuds like these are functioning properly, once paired they should automatically connect to the mobile device when powered on and disconnect when placed in the case. Neither of these functions works consistently. I have to go into my settings and manually connect to the earbuds at least 2 out of 3 times, and this is even though they appear in my Bluetooth device list as they should. On most occasions, the earbuds would remain connected to my Bluetooth after they are placed in the case and the case is closed. I would wait for a couple of minutes to see if they would disconnect, and then I would have to go into my Bluetooth settings and manually disconnect. I have tested many earbuds, and if my memory serves me correctly, this is only the second time I have come across this issue.
  • As you can see in the picture below, when I charge my Aerobuds, only the LED for the right earbud and the power LED light up. For some reason, the LED for the left earbud never lights up. I do suspect that my case is defective since both earbuds do charge once I make sure that they are seated properly in the case.


The Aerobuds fit quite comfortably in the ears and stay in place quite well. They are lightweight and do not add any additional noticeable presence other than what can be expected as “normal”.

The Phone functions work as they should, and I could hear the person on the line very clearly. However, the other party would indicate that while they could hear me clearly, my voice is very low. I have to raise my voice significantly for them to hear me in a volume that would be considered close to “normal”.

What I like

I like the small size of the Aerobuds and how well they fit in my ears. They are lightweight and feel quite comfortable.

What can be improved

  • The stability of the Bluetooth Connection
  • The upper-frequency threshold for the highs
  • The range of the bass
  • The quality control related to the Aerobuds and the connection in the charging case
  • The ability to connect and disconnect from the mobile device

Final thoughts

The LiteXim Aerobuds have many positive features for the everyday run-around earbuds. They are lightweight and for the price, they are an ok value. I also usually mention in my “Final thoughts” segment, that feel, fit and sound are all individually subjective dynamics. For me, the issues that I experienced with the Bluetooth connection along with the overall sound that was a bit harsh in the highs and lacking in the lows make these more usable for convenience if my other earbuds are charging or for some reason out of reach. They are not my first choice if my other earbuds are readily available. I would mention the names of some of the others, but that might be unfair given their cost.

Price: $65.99
Where to buy: Amazon Use the code RD4336XO for 28% off (expires 7/30/18)
Source: The sample for this review was provided by LiteXim.

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LiteXim Aerobuds wireless earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 20, 2018 at 4:15 pm.

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Pitaka Magcase Pro iPhone X case review

REVIEW – Pitaka has made the leap from single layer cases to a multi-material protective case in the new MagCase Pro for the iPhone X. Does the military spec testing grade matter? How bulky is it? Does it come in black? All these questions and more are answered below.

What is it?

MagCase Pro is a protective case for iPhone X built to take drops and still be relatively thin without affecting the daily use of your phone.

Hardware specs

  • 5 layers of defense to provide the ultimate protection.
  • Protective yet not bulky. Only 0.1 inch profile.
  • Specially-designed bumper corners provide excellent shock-absorption.
  • Shock-resistant back protects the phone against shock.
  • Anti-slip grip ensures a firmer hold when carrying the phone.
  • No interference to WIFI, GPS, Apple Pay, Wireless charging or your signals.

What’s in the box?

  • MagCase Pro for iPhone X
  • Thank You & social media contest card

Design and features

The design of this case has really come to intrigue me. It’s not that I was particularly drawn to the way it looked. I purchased Pitaka’s MagCase for my previous iPhone 6 Plus and it was the first case I ordered for my iPhone X. Interestingly enough I’m not terribly fond of carbon fiber either and the Aramid fiber they use definitely has that look to it. What originally struck me about their MagCase was how thin it was, how sturdy it was, that it always had a slightly warm feel and that it wasn’t slippery, nor too grippy. The opportunity to review their MagCase Pro came up recently and I wanted to see how they designed a case for increased protection.

From a design perspective, let’s look at what you can see and feel. The website images show a protective case that adds some bulk and isn’t too dissimilar from the many protective cases out there, other than their distinctive Aramid material on the back. The box that showed up had me concerned as it felt pretty heavy. 180g on the scale. Opening the box however immediately assuaged my fears as the box is very overbuilt for a case and weighs 143g. If you’re doing the math that means the case is 37g.

I threw a few other protective cases on the scale and they’re all between 40 and 50g. That may not seem like a big difference, but it’s noticeable when the iPhone X is already 174g (an iPhone 6 plus is 172g btw).

From the back, there are some interesting details. The back plate is their Aramid material which I’ll detail out in a bit.

The camera hole has a raised edge offering increased protection of the lens. The other three corners have small arcs raised to the same height so the phone sits totally flat on a table.

Just beyond that rounded rectangle is a scalloped relief that absolutely aids in making the case feel thinner than it is. The last thing visible from this back view is the four corners which clearly protrude (~ 1mm) and add protection for those unexpected drops which happen to all of us.

Looking at the sides, you’ll notice the slanted ridges on the long sides look very pronounced at first. The spacing of them however provides comfortable traction and even something to play with. I find myself frequently dragging my thumbnail along it washer board style.

The power and volume buttons all have great button actuation where you don’t have to press very hard, and you can feel that it pressed and registered. The cut-out for the ringer switch is a good size without being too deep. The bottom has cutouts for the speakers/mic and a charging port large enough for most cables while the top is nice and smooth. Those same four protruding corners come in handy while handling the phone.

Inside the case is a soft microfiber to protect the glass back of your phone while the inner sides have a dimpled texture in the TPU. Those dimples make contact with your phone and compress on impact offering a bit of an air cushion.

The amount of ‘travel’ is pretty minimal compared to the four corners. What was protrusions on the outside is a void on the inside and this provides a good bit more travel should your phone take a direct corner hit in a drop.

That leaves us with the front of the case. There’s a slight ramp up from the sides towards the screen and then a noticeable lip to the screen edge.

This raised lip means you can set your phone face down without any worries, even if you want to add screen protection as well. This is an underrated and definitely something that was missing from their MagCase product.

Setup

This step is really easy. The TPU material that Pitaka uses is rigid while still being very pliable. You can literally put the phone in any side first, or even flat and just push down. The phone pops right in and all the sides bounce back.

Performance

I’ll get this right out of the way. The MagCase Pro is my new favorite case. I’m a switcher. I swap my case a lot, or I should say I did. This has been on my phone solidly since I got it, the exception being a cycling specific case that mounts to my bike. I can honestly say that I’ve dropped my phone less, and when it has dropped it’s never made one of those sounds where you think ‘Uh oh’. The corner hits absorb well enough that had you not seen it you’d think there was rug down there.

Pitaka claims that this case passes 3x the military specification standard. I don’t doubt the veracity of that claim at all. Does it matter? Or is mil-spec a relevant standard? That’s a little harder to quantify as it’s really hard to repeatably drop a device the exact same way. I’ve had cases before that have protected a device flipping off the roof of a car, yet shattering the screen when falling 3 feet from a table at a car dealer. What you can take away is that they’ve done a lot of drop testing and it’s done well.

One of the other reasons this is now my case of choice is their daily use compatibility. If you’re like me, you’ve got some kind of mount in your car and probably a wireless charger at home, at work or both. Pitaka made sure that wireless charging was not affected by their design. That’s one thing when creating a protective case. When you also include magnets to work with your car mounts, that’s pretty cool.

Pitaka has two car mounts; MagMount ($14) and MagMount Qi ($25). Both are available in your choice of vent, suction or CD mount solutions. I’m partial to magnetic mounts and the annoying thing has been the requirement to put a metal plate on the back of your case, or inside if you like to live dangerously. They sent the standard MagMount with vent clip along with this case for review.

It’s a pretty simple ball joint connected to a larger vent clip that grabs the vent fins well. If you mount it closer to the bottom of your vent, the weight of your phone keeps things from bouncing around.

Having metal plates embedded and manufacturing both the case and the mount has allowed Pitaka to create a very sturdy and reliable solution. I’ve yet to have it slide off in the car on this mount, or their MagMount Qi which I had purchased to use with the MagCase I own.

I’m going to steal a graphic from their site now because I really don’t want to cut this case up to show you the layers. There’s 5!

From inside out it’s; microfiber, shock-absorber foam, Aramid layer, Aramid with magnets, and Aramid again. That’s all surrounded by the TPU perimeter.

So what’s Aramid? And how did we get this far down without talking about it? Let’s just answer the first of those two. Aramid is short for aromatic polyamide. They’re man-made synthetic fibers originally made for aerospace. There’s a lot more detail on their website, including a detailed article but what you should take away is how durable it is. It will show some scratches, but it also seems to have some self-healing properties as you can ‘rub-them-away’ in most cases. Funnily enough, I have an extreme example I can show you. This is Doolittle, our beagle.

He’s a chewer and got ahold of my previously mentioned MagCase a while back. Here are some photos of it now after trimming off the seriously damaged corner and using a sanding wheel to smooth out and flatten a couple spots.

Still fits and works other than not protecting the camera corner anymore.

So, can it be possible that there’s nothing I’d change? Almost, but it’s not on the case itself. I want to see is more colors and more devices supported. Right now you can get a MagCase Pro for any device, in any color as long as it’s black for iPhone X. If there were versions for iPhone 7, I’d require my kids to use this case. It’s that good. Luckily for me, I do have the right phone and Black/Grey is fine by me.

What I like

  • Fit, feel and finish
  • Non-slippery in hand, non-grabby in pocket
  • Protection from drops
  • Magnetic mount and Qi compatibility

What needs to be improved

  • Options. 1 device, 1 color

Final thoughts

So let’s recap. This is my new favorite case and I think my phone is safer for it. If you have the right phone, you like black and want to protect your phone investment, please consider this case. If you have a different device and/or want some color in your life, let’s hope Pitaka expands their collection as this case is great.

Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Pitaka and Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Pitaka

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Pitaka Magcase Pro iPhone X case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 20, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Rabbit Charger review

REVIEW – In an effort to tidy up our kitchen and get rid of messy charging cables laying on counters and the kitchen table, I have been testing the Rabbit Charger. This square charger installs over your existing wall outlet to provide a dual charging cable that can charge iOS devices, USB-C devices or micro USB devices.

What is it?

The Rabbit Charger is basically a retractable charging cable holder with swappable tips and the ability to charge two devices at once delivering up to 3.0 amps per tip. The charger gets its cute name from the dual connectors that pull out from the top of the device and are reminiscent of bunny ears.

What’s in the box?

Rabbit Charger
Micro USB Charging Tips (Built-in x2)
USB-C Charging Tips (Swappable x2)
Tethers (x2)

Design and features

The Rabbit Charger is a white plastic box with a 28-inch retractable cable that pulls out from the top of the unit. A lighted button on the front of the charger retracts the cable when you’re done using it.

The back of the unit has a 3-prong plug that plugs into an existing wall outlet after you remove the outlet’s cover.

The Rabbit Charger has 2 micro USB connectors built into the cables and it comes with 2 USB-C tips that install over the existing micro USB tips. You can also buy Apple-certified Lightning tips for $9.95 each which I think is a bit on the spendy side.

The flat cable pulls out from the top of the charger with a firm tug.


The swappable tips install over the top of the built-in micro USB tips with the included tether straps.

The whole unit is slightly larger than a switch plate cover, but about an inch or so thick.

Installation

Installing the Rabbit Charger is quick and easy, but you will need a screen driver to remove the screen from an existing outlet’s switch plate.

Once the plate has been removed and the receptacle is exposed, you can remove the plastic cover on the front of the Rabbit Charger and plug it into the outlet so that the plug in the charger plugs into the bottom port of the wall outlet.

You will know that everything is connected properly when . you tighten the built-in screw and the retract button lights up like you see in the image above.

Then you can replace the plastic cover on the front of the charger and you’re ready to go.

Jeanne has been using the Rabbit Charger for a couple of weeks with her Pixel and likes that she doesn’t have to see cables lying around the kitchen or think about putting them in a drawer when she’s finished charging her phone. Since the Rabbit Charger delivers up to 3.0 amps per tip, I’ve used it to charge my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 and my Pixel 2 XL at the same time using the USB-C tips. Just be aware that the Rabbit Charger does not support quick charging.

What I like

  • Easy to install
  • Can charge 2 devices at once
  • Lighted button is like a night light

What needs to be improved

  • Blocks one outlet
  • Does not support quick charging
  • Too expensive by itself and way too expensive if you need to add Lightning tips

Final thoughts

The Rabbit Charger installs easily and provides a handy way to keep charging cables tidy and somewhat out of sight. It is expensive though especially if you’re an iOS user and want 2 Lightning tips because that will cost you an extra $19.90 + the $49.95 price of the charger itself. That comes out to a whopping $69.85 for a two device charger that doesn’t even support quick charging. In my opinion, that’s too expensive for a charging box with a retractable cable feature. What do you think?

Price: $49.95
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Rabbit Charger.

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Rabbit Charger review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 19, 2018 at 11:30 am.

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Momentum Niro WiFi Garage Door Controller with Built-in Camera review


REVIEW – Here was a typical scenario in our household: We’re getting ready to go somewhere and hop into the car parked in the garage. We open the garage door, back out, and drive away. “Did I close the garage door?” my husband asks me. After thinking about it, I respond, “I don’t remember.” We then turn the car around to go back to the house to check to see if we closed the garage door.

Products like the Momentum Niro Universal WiFi Garage Door Controller with Built-in Camera help to eliminate such scenarios. I was able to review this product and found that it works fairly well. You can open or close the garage door from anywhere, view the live video stream within the garage, and manually take pictures or record video. Furthermore, you can set up rules to create automatic recordings and send notifications when motion or sound is detected. It works with the Nest thermostat but does not appear to work with Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, or other smart home systems. In addition, the app needs a little reorganization.

What is it?

The Momentum Niro Universal WiFi Garage Door Controller with Built-in Camera is a WiFi garage door controller with a built-in 720P camera that attaches to your existing compatible garage door openers. It allows you to monitor, record movement or sound from within the garage, and open or close your garage door from anywhere using the Momentum app. It will also send you notifications of any motion or sound event detected.

Hardware specs

Camera: HD Camera with 720P sensor
Field of View: 110° wide-angle lens
Motion Detection: Adjustable sensitivity with push notifications
Night Vision: Infrared LEDs with Automatic Night Vision Mode
SD Card Slot: Micro SD Slot (up to 128GB SD Card)
Compatible Garage Doors: Garage Compatibility List
Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connection @ 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz
Audio: Two Way Audio
Dimensions: Height: 5.30”, Width: 3.00”, Thickness: 0.99”
Weight: 5.30 oz
Power: 100-240V
Warranty: 1-Year Limited Warranty 

What’s in the box?

  • Momentum Niro Garage Door Controller
  • USB Cable
  • Power Adapter
  • Garage Door Control Wires
  • Mounting Plate (round metal plate)
  • Round 3M Double-sided Adhesive Tape
  • Niro Quick Start Guide
  • Niro User Manual

Design and features

The Momentum Niro Universal WiFi Garage Door Controller comes with a built-in camera which resides in a rigid plastic housing. Starting from the top of the device, you can see the infrared light for night vision, the camera lens, the microphone, and the indicator/status light.

The indicator lights are as follows:

  • solid red light: the camera is booting up
  • slow blinking red light: disconnected from WiFi
  • double blinking blue light: ready to connect to WiFi
  • blinking blue light: connected to WiFi
  • solid blue light: a user is currently live streaming

In the above photo starting from the left, the back of Niro shows the reset button, the wire connector ports (in green), the release buttons (in orange), the micro-USB power port, and the built-in speaker. The whole assembly is mounted on a plastic ball pivot hinge to allow you to rotate and position Niro as you wish.

One side of Niro contains the micro-SD card slot which will accommodate a card up to 128GB. You can save videos to Momentum’s cloud or an SD card (not provided). You do not have to use a cloud plan to use Niro. Yay! But just in case you are interested, they have a 7-day event recording plan for $5 per month and a 30-day event recording plan for $10 per month (see Momentum Capture Cloud Service). I generally gravitate toward devices that have local storage rather than pay for a cloud plan.

The bottom of Niro has a silicone base and a magnet that you can use to mount it to the metal mounting plate.

Setup

App Setup

The first thing I needed to do was to download the Momentum app onto my phone (Pixel 2 XL) and create an account. I then needed to pair Niro to the app.

To pair Niro with the app, I needed to plug it into an outlet. We used the same outlet that our garage door opener was connected to.

Once plugged in, the status light was a solid red indicating that Niro was booting up.


After booting up, I was supposed to hear a voice stating that Niro was in pairing mode but unfortunately, I didn’t. Instead, I had to verify that the status LED light was flashing red and blue and thankfully it was.  I then went back into the app, tapped on “Pair” and tapped on the “Momentum Niro Garage Door Controller” from the list of other Momentum devices.


At that point, I then selected my WiFi network and entered my credentials.

After pairing with the app and connecting to my network, I then tried to update the firmware but it failed the first time. It did finally update.


Next, I named my Niro garage door controller “Garage”, after which I needed to complete the rest of the physical installation of the device.

Niro Garage Door Controller setup

We used the double-sided round 3M adhesive provided and placed it under our garage door opener. You could then attach Niro to this adhesive disk, but instead, we chose to attach the round metal plate to the adhesive.

Then we attached Niro magnetically to the metal plate. This allows us to easily remove Niro should we ever need to.

Next, we needed to attach the wires to the garage door opener. The garage door controller wire provided is much longer than what is needed, so we trimmed the wire and stripped the insulation at the end we cut (use this end to connect to the garage door opener terminals shown above).

The two wires, beige and white, were attached to the 1 and 2 positions of our opener by unscrewing the screws and wrapping the exposed ends of the wires around each screw and then tightening them. These terminals on your garage door opener are most likely already connected to your push button controller, and by connecting Niro to the same terminals, you are installing two switches in parallel. This will ensure that either the push button or Niro will open or close the garage door at any time.

The other ends of the wires needed to be attached to Niro in the first two wire connector ports. “Note: Both wires are neutral, so it doesn’t matter which color wire goes into which of the two ports. However, make sure the open wire ends are not touching each other.” (-Niro Quick Start Guide).

If you happened to trim the control wire to a more reasonable length as I mentioned above, be sure to use the tinned ends (the ends that were stripped by the manufacturer and coated in solder to be rigid) because they will more easily fit into the tiny holes in the back of the Niro.

To insert the wires, the orange release buttons needed to be depressed.

Last, I inserted a 32 GB micro-SD card into the slot (this slot will accommodate up to 128GB).

Performance



The default Momentum dashboard has three tiles on it. However, you can change the dashboard appearance if you wish by tapping on the pencil icon located at the top right corner as shown in the first screenshot above.

Camera tile

To access the live video feed and camera controls, you must tap on the “Camera” tile which is the largest tile located at the top of the dashboard. In addition to the live video, it will allow you to tap on each of four icons located at the bottom of the screen (center screenshot above): Microphone icon for two-way communication, Record Video icon for manually recording video, Camera icon for manually taking a screenshot of the live video, and Activity icon for  viewing the activity for the day.

While in the “Camera” tile of the app, to perform two-way communication, you must press the Microphone icon once to speak to the person in front of the Niro camera and then again in order to hear them speak to you. To manually record a video, you need to tap on the Record Video icon to start the recording and then again to stop it. To take a picture, you need to tap on the Camera icon. The last icon is the Activity icon which will take you to a list of all the activities recorded.

I was able to speak to a person in the garage easily and the audio quality was fine. Additionally, recording and taking screenshots were easy too. I could view my manual video recordings and photos in the Activity list; although it takes a few minutes or so for them to show up there.

Garage tile

Next, you can access the garage door controls by tapping on the “Garage” tile in the lower left corner of the dashboard (the one that has a garage door icon on it). From here, you can view the live video feed and open and close the garage door. Most of the time I was able to open the garage door by using the app. However, there were a couple of times when I opened the app and it was unable to connect to the Niro garage door controller. This is a concern and thus you may want to carry a backup garage door remote when this happens.

I’m not sure why the “Camera” and “Garage” tiles couldn’t be combined into one. That way all the garage door and camera controls are all together for each of your Niro controllers.

By the way, the live views from the “Camera” and “Garage” tiles are normally identical. I actually adjusted the camera down in the right screenshot above which is why it looks different from the center screenshot.




Settings

While in the live video feed portion of the app, there is a gear icon located in the upper right corner of the screen that will give you a list of options to choose from: “Settings”, “Subscription”, or “About”.

In the settings, you can change the name of your device (second screenshot above), adjust the live video image quality, and adjust the sensitivity of the sound and motion detectors. You may also view camera backups on the SD card or format the card (third screenshot above). Additionally, you can set the garage door controller to control multiple garage doors near each other (last screenshot above).


Creating and using Rules

If you swipe left on the default Momentum app dashboard, you will see one other tile – the “Rules” tile. By tapping on it, you can create your own rules to trigger the Niro camera.




I created a rule for my Niro garage door controller. I only had one Niro, so it was already selected under the list of “Devices”. Then, under “Trigger”, I selected “Motion is detected” and under “Action”, I selected “Record a video”. Actually, I was unable to select anything else under “Trigger” or “Action”. I then selected which days and the time of day I wanted to detect and record motions. And last, I selected “Send app notification”.

Whenever Niro detected a motion, it would automatically record video of it and send me a notification. Notice that it also sent a notification that an “Audio Event” was detected in the screenshot above.

Here are a couple of samples of the video quality and audio quality of the Niro camera. Notice how nicely the camera switches from IR nighttime (our garage has no windows so it is dark when the garage door is closed) to daytime video.

While using Niro for about a month, I noticed that every recording was only 19 seconds long. Often, this was not enough time to record the entire motion event so another 19-second video was recorded to finish capturing it. However, the second video starts about 20 seconds after the end of the first video thus missing the end of the motion event and capturing nothing in the second recording. I received a motion event notification for each recording. There does not seem to be a way to alter the 19-second video recording length in the settings.

In addition, I noticed that I would receive another motion event notification a few minutes after closing the garage door. Perhaps it was due to the garage light shutting off thus eliminating shadows detected by the camera. You can adjust the sensitivity of the motion detector although it may not eliminate this issue.

You can use the Momentum app to control your Nest thermostat. To pair your Nest with the Momentum app, you must tap on the menu icon located in the upper left corner of the dashboard and select “Pair device”. Once paired, tapping on the thermostat tile on the Momentum dashboard flips it over. One side allows you to adjust the Nest to “Home” or “Away” modes. The other side allows you to change your temperature settings by sliding up or down on the snowflake icon or flame icon.

What I like

  • Installation was easy
  • I was able to check to view the garage door status and open/close the garage door while away from home
  • Transitioning from nighttime vision to daytime was seamless
  • It works with the Nest thermostat

What needs to be improved

  • Garage door and camera controls should be located in the same tile on the app
  • Allow the user to change the duration of the automatic recordings
  • It doesn’t appear to work with Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, or other smart home systems

Final thoughts

I really enjoy using the Momentum Niro WiFi Universal Garage Door Controller with Built-in Camera. First of all, it was wonderfully easy to install. Furthermore, I was able to connect to Niro to check on my garage door status and open/close the garage door from anywhere. There were only a couple of times that I could not connect with Niro. Thus, I suggest that you keep your garage door remote with you, just in case.

There are a few things that mildly bothered me. First of all, it would be nice to have all the garage door and camera controls all in one place. Next, it would be nice to allow the user to alter the video recording durations beyond 19 seconds. Third, Niro only works with the Nest thermostat. It doesn’t work with Alexa or Google Home (or other smart home systems except for Nest). Other than these drawbacks, I really enjoy using the Momentum Niro. Please be sure to check your garage door opener for compatibility with Niro before purchasing.

Price: $99.88 – $99.95
Where to buy: Amazon and Momentum
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Momentum

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Momentum Niro WiFi Garage Door Controller with Built-in Camera review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 19, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Burkley Leather Business Briefcase review

REVIEW – The classic leather briefcase never goes out of style, does it? Today we’re checking out the Burkley Leather Business Briefcase, a classy leather brief for the business minimalist. How does it do in our testing? Let’s go to work! 

What is it?

It’s a minimalist leather briefcase sized for tablets and laptops up to 13”.

  • Dimensions : 14.5″ x 11″ x 2.75″
  • Weight: 15 ounces
  • Material : Top Grain Burnished Tan Genuine Leather, felt interior
  • Removable adjustable shoulder strap
  • Leather handles
  • Reinforced corners and metal feet
  • Gunmetal finish hardware

Design and features

The design of the Burkley Leather Business Briefcase is simple, elegant, and focused. It’s a good looking piece of gear that will dress up your business look, even if you’re going a bit more casual:

There’s some lovely detail work in the assembly of this briefcase. The primary material a lightweight vegetable tanned leather with a light grey felt interior. The trim work and finishing is tight, and the stitching looks good from all angles. Gunmetal hardware used throughout the bag pairs nicely with the burnished tan leather in my tester. Reinforced corners, and metal studs on the base round out the body work. Toss in the (tastefully sized) embossed buffalo Burkley logo, and you have a very attractive package. Check out some of the detail work:

The form factor is that of a top loading brief, with the zips that travel 8” down the sides of the bag for easy access to the interior. All of your storage is in the main compartment, which features matching 14” x 9” x 1.25” laptop/tablet pockets, a pair of 6” by 6” thin pockets, and two pen loops sized for thin writing utensils (like the Apple Pencil). Here’s are pics of the interior faces. Note that the nice finishing work carries through to the felt pockets:

Two carry options round out the design of the Burkley Leather Business Briefcase. A pair of substantial leather carry handles are used for briefcase-style carry. The detachable shoulder strap is made from a copper-colored nylon weave with a generous 52” adjustable length. There’s no shoulder pad, but the 1.5” wide strap is more than comfortable given the weight of the bag (15 ounces unloaded). Attachment points are offset with one on each side of the zip, which aids in keeping the bag closer to your body in over-the-shoulder or cross-body carry maneuvers.

In Use

If you’re looking to make an impression when you walk into the boardroom, this bag will do the job. The timeless silhouette is all class, and you won’t look like a wandering Sherpa hauling your massive gear bag into that meeting. It’s also got great usability. Everything is simple, easily accessible, and functions flawlessly. The pockets are just the right size and texture to slide items in and out easily without a lot of fumbling. I especially like the twin (and equal sized) laptop/tablet pockets on the interior. Specialty pockets in a small bag like this would limit my options. With this setup, I can run with a laptop and my big ol’ iPad Pro, or swap either out for a smaller iPad and/or notebooks as needed without compromising the remaining available space. This is good.

On the flip side, minimal means leaving all of your extra junk at home. Lean and mean is the packing style for this bag. It will accommodate a 13” MacBook and/or a tablet (up to an IPad Pro with the Apple keyboard and case), plus a notebook… but there’s not much room to spare after that. I have a think organizer pouch in there for little bits. You could toss some little items in there in the remaining space (like a smaller power brick), but that’s about it.

Here’s the thing: at a mere 15 ounces and a small carry volume, it’s ridiculously easy to toss about. It’s great for being on the go, provided you don’t need all of your extra stuff with you.

If there’s one area of concern for me, it’s in the potential durability of the leather. I’m already starting to see some wear in one of the corners, just a few weeks in:

See that light color starting to show through? That means that the leather (and the dye job) is really thin. While the bag is beautifully finished and assembled, I’m concerned that the leather doesn’t match up to the $299 retail price on this bag. The 90-day warranty (manufacturer’s defects only) is also pretty light. If this was a cheaper bag  I’d be less concerned… but you have many, many buying options at the $300 price point. I’ll also do some more extensive durability test in the coming weeks to see how it holds up!

What I like

  • Elegant style and classic good looks
  • Super lightweight
  • Great finishing touches
  • Minimalist design with excellent day-to-day usability

What needs to be improved

  • The thin leather may lead to long-term wear issues
  • Concerns about value relative to the selling price

Final thoughts

The Burkley Leather Business Briefcase is a beautiful, well-executed brief that will fit the bill if you’re looking to upscale your business style. You can’t go wrong on the classic looks and excellent usability of this bag. The thin leather, however, raises some durability concerns for me if you beat your bags up. We’ll see how it holds up under long-term testing!

Price: $299.00
Where to buy: Visit the Burkley Leather web page to purchase this bag.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Burkley Leather.

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Burkley Leather Business Briefcase review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 18, 2018 at 3:58 pm.

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